1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to plant supports and particularly to a plant support system comprising a stake having a series of incremental vertically spaced oriented holes therein and plant support wires, each wire having a first end inserted into one of the series of holes and secured therein by a peg, which may be a nail or screw, partially driven into the hole and the wire wrapped supportively around the plant and the second end of the wire wound around the peg.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
It is well known in horticulture to provide wooden, plastic or metallic stakes for supporting various vegetables, flowers, and other plants during their growth or at certain stages in their life cycle when the stems are tender and liable to break. Once the stake is in the ground, plant support ties such as twine, wire, or even strips of cloth are used to provide a tie between the plant and the stake. The plant support ties generally must be tied or wrapped around the stake in an unorganized fashion with nothing to prevent the plant support ties from slipping down the stake and nothing to organize the plant support ties into orderly spaced arrays to coincide with the growth of the plant. Prior art patents do not adequately address this problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,000,911, issued May 14, 1935 to Balousek, provides a plant support comprising a stake with a plurality of holes therein for lacing the ends of a plant supporting reed or wire through.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,587,740, issued Jun. 8, 1926 to Wiswell, claims a support for plants and bushes which comprises an angled post having spaces holes at right angles to each other and arranged in pairs altitudinally, and open ended loops which may be vertically adjusted by placing the free end portions thereof in a selected pair of holes.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,627,495, issued May 3, 1927 to Effley, indicates a bush or plant support comprising a stake having a series of vertically oriented holes, a plant loop support section, and an adjustably mounted plant supporting loop. A portion of the loop support section matingly engages one of the series of holes.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,781,316, issued Nov. 11, 1930 to Brooks, concerns a plant support comprising a plant support standard with vertically oriented and incrementally spaced apertures therethrough and a vertically adjustable plant supporting loop. The loop maybe held in place by a bent portion of the wire that mates with one of the holes or a pin inserted through a selected hole.
U.S. Patent Application #20030126794, published Jul. 10, 2003 by Wisniewski, claims a thermoplastic garden stake with integrally molded notches for fencing, hooks for plants, and holes for cords provided on the ribs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,162, issued May 28, 1985 to Stuckey, shows a vertical plant support with horizontal hoops. A plant/vine support is provided which comprises a post or stake member adapted to be driven into the earth spaced a distance away from the plant or vine and a plurality of rings, each ring having integrally formed stabilizing members for stabilizing the rings in vertical and horizontal planes and connectors for detachably securing the rings to the post or stake. In one embodiment, pairs of holes in the channel post receives pairs of locking hooks and, in another embodiment, one of the locking hooks is a locking detent.
Two U.S. Pat. Nos. D300,900 issued May 2, 1989 and 4,750,293 issued Jun. 14, 1988 to Dyke, claim a plant support device, which includes a longitudinally extending support member having a first opening formed in a wall portion thereof and a longitudinal opening extending at least part of the length of the support member; a flexible band-like clip member having a first flat end portion positioned in the first opening and within the longitudinal opening; a first straight flat leg portion connected to the first flat end portion; a flexible intermediate leg portion connected to the first leg portion; and a second straight flat leg portion connected to the flexible intermediate leg portion and extending to a position adjacent the first flat end portion.
U.S. Pat. No. D231,628, issued May 7, 1974 to Bartels, describes the ornamental design of a plant stake having a series of vertically oriented holes therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,780, issued Sep. 27, 1994 to Dyke, discloses a plant support device for supporting plant stems and fencing which includes a support member having serrated rib structures extending the longitudinal length of the support member and hole slots located adjacent to the rib structures which provide a location to attach plant clips or fencing to the support member. An extension member is provided which telescopically inserts into the support member to easily lengthen the plant support device. Various plant clips are provided which attach to the plant support device to support plant stems and fencing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,965, issued May 10, 1977 to Norris, puts forth a plant support stake with an integral support means in the form of plant ties and integral dispensing means for fertilizer and pesticides in the provision of a complete growth support system of an adjacent plant throughout the entire growth and bearing cycle of the plant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,210, issued Aug. 6, 1996 to Hupfl, illustrates an apparatus for supporting various different types of plantlife growing in a ground area including stakes adapted to be inserted into the ground with preferably a pointed end formed of hard plastic preferably recycled. The one or more stakes define a slot extending therethrough adapted to receive a supporting strap of hard or preferably recycled plastic. The supporting strap includes a flat surface adapted to support the shaft of a vertically growing plant or tree without damaging thereto. The strap is preferably generally rectangular in cross section and includes a plurality of studs thereon and defines a plurality of apertures therein. The studs are adapted to extend through the apertures to form the supporting strap into circular formations of varying lengths for supporting of plantlike growing adjacent to the stake. The supporting strap is designed to extend through the preferably rectangular slots in the stakes to facilitate support. A tubular locking device is included for extending about the studs at the location where they are locked with respect to the apertures to facilitate maintaining of retainment therebetween. The tubular locking device preferably extends about the supporting strap and is movable longitudinally therealong.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,369, issued Mar. 13, 1990 to Vomfell, is for a multi-purpose stake that includes a stake means forming a longitudinal member adapted to be supported substantially perpendicular to a support surface. An aperture means forms at least one pair of laterally spaced apertures in the stake means. Either a belt means is disposed in a pair of apertures and adapted to form an enclosure to support an object thereon of a snap-on means may be used for removably engaging the apertures to support an object thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,377,832, issued May 10, 1921 to Hanner, shows a plant support in which a V-shaped stake provides a support for a wire ring at spaced positions along the intersection of the two sides of the stake. The ring is capable of sliding on the stake between the spaced positions and being secured at the positions by engagement of a bent portion of the ring with apertures in the stake.
What is needed is a plant supporting stake having a series of vertically spaced plant support ties positioned on the stake at appropriate intervals and securely fixed to the stake at those intervals.